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Baby Doris
The Baby Doris (ベビードリス) is a Japanese 3×4cm folding camera, distributed from 1941 to 1943 by Fukada Shōkai. Dates: advertisements and articles listed in , p.338. It succeeded to the original Doris (3×4) camera and was probably made by Shinkō Seiki (see the discussion below). Description The Baby Doris is a vertical folder, with straight folding struts. The main body is shaped the same as on the previous strut-folding Doris, which was perhaps made by the same company. The folding optical finder is in the middle of the top plate, as seen by the photographer holding the camera horizontally. There is a button on the top plate, falling under the right index finger and looking like a shutter release, but it certainly opens the folding bed instead. The advance knob is at the top left. The back is hinged to the left, and retained by a sliding bar on the right. The name DORIS is embossed in the front leather. Commercial life The Baby Doris was first advertised in September 1941, and was featured in the new products column of the October 1941 issue of Shashin Bunka. , p.338. Advertisements in Shashin Bunka dated October 1942 and February 1943 list three versions of the camera: Advertisements reproduced in , pp.60 and 80. * Baby Doris I: Doris Anastigmat 50/4.5 lens, T, B, 25, 50, 100 speeds, ; * Baby Doris II: Doris Anastigmat 50/4.5 lens, T, B, 5–150 speeds, ; * Baby Doris IIII: U.L.L. Anastigmat 50/3.5 lens, same speeds (or perhaps T, B, 10–150 with self-timer), For the model IIII, the shutter speeds are written "T, B, S, 1/10, 1/25, 1/50, 1/100, 1/150". The letter "S" might be a typo for 1/5, or an abbreviation for "Self-timer". . The case is listed separately for ¥5.51. There is no mention of a Baby Doris III. On the picture, which is the same on the two advertisements, the camera has a chrome finished shutter plate, marked DORIS at the bottom. The April 1943 government inquiry on Japanese camera production has a "Doris" 3×4cm bellows camera made by Shinkō and distributed by Fukada, certainly corresponding to the Baby Doris. , items 170–1. Two versions are listed, both with a Doris shutter made by Shinkō: , shutter items 12-U-1 and 12-V-5. * "Doris": Doris 50/4.5 lens, 25–100, B speeds; * "Doris VI": U.L.L. 50/3.5 lens, 5–150, T, B speeds. These two versions have the same features as the Baby Doris I and Baby Doris IIII listed above. The name "Doris VI" is presumably a mistake for "Doris IV", perhaps introduced in the recent reproduction of the document, compiled from a hand-written original which is said to be hardly legible on some places. Supuringu kamera de ikou, p.187. Actual examples Only two surviving examples have been observed so far, and both correspond to the Baby Doris I. Examples pictured in this page at Kitanomachi tekuteku aruki, and in , item 1039. They have a black shutter plate, marked DORIS at the top. The speeds are engraved in the shutter rim in the order 100, 50, 25, B, T. Manufacturer The April 1943 government inquiry says that the Baby Doris and its Doris shutter were made by Shinkō. , items 170–1. No other source has been found to confirm this, and the original advertisements only give the name of the distributor Fukada Shōkai. Advertisements reproduced in , pp.60 and 80. Some sources say that the camera was made by "Prince Camera Works". , item 1039, and , p.803. but this was not the name of any actual company, only a dummy name used for promotional purpose (see Camera Works). Moreover, this name is not associated to the Baby Doris in any of the original documents seen so far. The "Doris" name might also be related to the name of Mr Motodori, founder of the Motodori company. At least this was the case for the postwar Doris cameras made by Tōkyō Seiki and later Doris Camera (successors of the Motodori company). Niimi, p.92. Notes Bibliography * Item 156. (See also the advertisement for item 29.) * Items 170–1. * P.803. * Niimi Kahee (新見嘉兵衛). Kamera-mei no gogen sanpo (カメラ名の語源散歩, Strolls in the etymology of camera names). 2nd ed. Tokyo: Shashin Kōgyō Shuppansha, 2002. ISBN 4-87956-060-X * Item 1039. Links * Baby Doris at Kitanomachi tekuteku aruki Category: Japanese 3x4 viewfinder folding Category: 3x4 strut folding Category: B Doris